Civil Engineering Association

Motor-CAD is a unique software package for the thermal analysis of electric motors and generators, used by many leading motor manufacturers and universities world wide. The software is used to provide rapid analysis of design and manufacturing changes. Its analytical based algorithms give instantaneous calculation speeds and allow 'what-if' analysis in real time.

The software has a highly developed user interface that makes for easy data input and interpretation of results. The cross section of the motor to be analysed is input using the graphical editors shown below:

Both radial and axial cross-section editors are required such that the 3-dimensional aspects of heat transfer can be modeled. The visual feedback provided is useful for eliminating errors in data input and gives the user an indication of the main heat transfer paths. Many geometric configurations are available, i.e. motor types, housing types, mounting types, winding types, etc.

Below we see the visual feedback provided when inputting the motor winding details. The diagram gives an indication of the layered winding model used to calculate the temperature build up in the winding. The winding is automatically divided into several layers of different thermal conductivity. The slot fill is visually indicated by the amount of yellow copper to green insulation shown in the diagram.